Jay Leno is still a driving force in comedy

By Matt Jacob July 6, 2018

At 68 years old, Jay Leno is well past the age when the average American hangs up his lunchbox for good and begins enjoying his sunset years. Yet rather than ease up on the accelerator, the veteran stand-up comedian, former host of The Tonight Show and noted automobile buff continues to speed full-throttle past life’s stop sign.

In fact, as has been the case his entire working life, Leno still holds down multiple jobs: In addition to hosting the car-centric CNBC show Jay Leno’s Garage, Leno takes his stand-up act on the road for more than 200 shows per year—up from the 150 he averaged while simultaneously hosting The Tonight Show from 1992-2009 and 2010-14.

So what motivates one of the most successful comedians of all time to maintain a rising-comic-like pace? It certainly can’t be the paycheck (Leno’s reported net worth is $350 million, including the totality of his Tonight Show earnings, which he’s never touched), as he is a multimillionaire. No, if you asked Leno why he works so much, he’d likely respond with a question of his own: Why not? “If you do something and it works,” he told CNBC last year, “then keep doing it.” At least for as long as the ol’ engine keeps purring.